Notes from the Edge of the World
Rev. Matthew Heise
June 2010
Waiting for Godot? No, Just a Visa
Above: The land of Bach has slowly been losing its Christian faith
I have been cooling my heels in Germany for the past month at the apartment of my colleagues, Brent
and Jennie Smith. I am very grateful to them for putting me up while I sent my passport to the States and waited for a Russian visa. I am especially grateful to their nine year old son, Zachary, who gave up his room for me. Thanks, Zach! I also had the chance to visit my classmate in the Eurasian Ph.D. program, Rev. Markus Fischer, of our partner church SELK (Independent Lutheran Church in Germany). Markus serves Trinity Lutheran congregation in Leipzig. I was able to assist him in his Sunday service, lending my American-accented German to the readings for the day. In light of my stay in Germany, I’m going to put off the second part of my Mongolian diary for late June and write about the state of Christianity and missions in Germany today.
Modern Life in Europe- without faith?
Above: Wilhelm Sammel abandoned buildings advertising for owners or renters is not uncommon in declining East German cities like Leipzig Strasse
It may sound like a generalization, but anyway, here goes. Today life in Europe is all about living as carefree an existence as possible. As Christianity continues its rapid decline among the people, economic security and a generous vacation package seem to be all that matters. With the possibility of opting out of the state church tax now a reality, more and more Germans are saving money for their own pleasure pursuits. After all, why pay a tax for a church in which you no longer believe?
A lower birth rate indicates that people are also living without the concerns of child-raising; and when you die, well, many are not even being buried anymore. The overflow in cemeteries means it’s just as easy to cast your ashes into the wind or place it in an urn next to a tree in what is called a “peaceful forest”—(Friedwald). The reasoning seems to be— if there is no life after death, enjoy this life for all it is worth, and for heavens’ sake, do not profess any faith or ideology, because we know that only brings wars and Europe admittedly has had enough of those. (Recent studies indicate that more than half of all Germans no longer believe in life after death).
It is no wonder, then, that many commentators are talking about what is in essence the return of paganism to Germany. Of course non-traditional burials are also taking place because they are cheaper than a traditional ceremony. But if you don’t believe, then what is the point anyway? Some 1250 years after St. Boniface cut down the legendary tree of the pagan god Donar and brought Christianity to the German lands, Germans are returning to the forests but without a belief in any god at all.
How did they get there?
Above: An old East German town- Weissenfels
Now put it all together, and you can see how frightened Germans are by the Euro’s frailty. If that economic security blanket is taken away, then how will we live? Traveling through a small, east German town in the region of Saxony, I see in a microcosm the results of Germany and Europe abandoning Christianity and replacing it with materialism or other assorted -isms. I traveled with Markus to Weissenfels, where he and other East German church leaders were planning a Trinity Sunday gathering for several congregations. While they planned, I walked about the old city. It was a glimpse into the past and future of Germany and Europe. The city Evangelical church (St. Mary’s) was built in the 14th century, but today only 6% of the inhabitants are Christian. The people I saw on the streets sported all sorts of dyed hair and body piercings. The local Lutheran Church actually meets in a castle, the one once occupied by the 16th century Saxon duke, Augustus. Augustus was a strong supporter of Lutheranism in Saxony and even gave financial aid for the Book of Concord. This Lutheran congregation does what it can to counteract the forces of secularization in eastern Germany, but it is an increasingly ponderous challenge.
What has happened to the land of Luther? It’s a complicated question and one can only speculate, but the devaluation of the Bible probably has a lot to do with it. By the 19th century, European socialists and philosophers believed that Christianity had created too many wars, and so a secularization of society was needed, one which would gradually eradicate religion from European life. These secularists had many of their own prophets, chief among them being Friedrich Nietzsche. His burial site was only a half hour’s drive from Weissenfels on our way back to Leipzig, so we stopped off at the church grounds in the village of Roecken. There stood an old village church built in the early 12th century, one which Nietzsche’s father pastored. Friedrich abandoned the Lutheranism of his youth, initially disillusioned by what he called the “death of God”. Nietzsche said that society through science and secularization had killed off any concept of God, and now it had to live with the consequences. (“Man must recognize that his former prayer ‘Thy will be done’ must be replaced by ‘my will be done”). And so the God that Nietzsche worshiped as a child was abandoned by him and others who followed him, all in order for man’s will to be advanced. The results can be seen in the discomfort shown whenever Christians witness to their faith in Europe today. Naturally, Nietzsche ultimately went mad.
A Christian Hope for Germany?
Above: church of Roecken, home to the Nietzsches The village
So today Germany lives in what Max Weber and French philosopher Marcel Gauchet call a “disenchanted world”, one in which science and technology supposedly answer all questions and religion has no real place except in museums. Of course, even the Germans do not live entirely in a “God-abandoned” world. I noted that the largest section in the religion department in bookstores was occupied by books on Buddhism. But wherever the Gospel is proclaimed in truth and purity, pockets of hope remain. Noted author Philip Jenkins concentrates on those pockets of hope in his book God’s Continent, highlighting immigrant groups and those using creative ways of gathering people to hear the Word. In light of the Great Commission, our church partners at SELK are working with Muslim immigrants as well as atheists. One of the missionaries told me that evangelizing the atheists was tougher work, but he is gamely attempting to do just that. I spoke to one Iraqi immigrant at a local Bible study who came from Baghdad, the hometown of my uncle Adna. That started a conversation in German between us two foreigners, as he told me about fleeing persecution and coming to faith. Other Muslims and atheists are also coming to faith in these economically deprived areas of old eastern Germany. So there is always hope where the Gospel in proclaimed. God’s Word never returns void. Our church partners have not given up on bringing the Word to the people in Germany, and we need to keep them in prayer as they work at this great task.
Back to my roots?It was humbling to spend time in the land of my
Below: Katie Luther’s burial vault in the wall of St. Mary’s
distant ancestors. Before my Grandpa Heise’s forefathers went to Russia in the 18th century, they came from Saxony according to my Aunt Ella. German friends confirmed for me that the Heise name comes from Saxon roots (from Heidenreich-“dominator of the heathens!”). The Saxons took a long time to convert, they being among the most stubborn and mule-headed of German tribes(a trait, thank you very much, that I have continued to preserve, both in a figurative and literal sense). It was exciting for me to visit the city of Torgau on one cold, wet, Saturday—my birthday, of all days. I visited the house where Katharina von Bora, Martin Luther’s wife, died in 1552. She suffered much after Luther’s death, but she was a woman of extraordinary faith. Even more encouraging to me, though, was learning that there is a Lutheran outreach to Muslims in that city. Luther would be happy as should we, recalling his famous Pentecost hymn- Komm, Heiliger Geist, Herre Gott (Come, Holy Ghost, God and Lord!) —In celebration of Pentecost, here is the first verse from his classic 1524 hymn-
Come, Holy Ghost, God and Lord!
Be all Thy graces now outpoured
On each believer’s mind and heart;
Thy fervent love to them impart.
Lord, by the brightness of Thy light
Thou in the faith dost men unite
Of every land and every tongue;
This to Thy praise, O Lord, our God, be sung.
Hallelujah! Halleluja!h
Prayer Requests: Thank you for your prayers for safety. I have traveled a lot lately, and God’s angels have been working overtime, for which I am very grateful. Please pray for a safe journey back to Georgia on June 22.
Please continue to keep in prayer the health of Karen Roemer, Boris Chuprov, and Aima.
Please pray for the strong witness of our German Lutheran church partners from SELK.
Please pray for a successful course on Romans at the Ingrian Lutheran Seminary in Koltushi.
Please pray for the mission outreach of our Georgian evangelists, engaged now in sensitive outreach.
Mail Issues—A few notes about the mailing address— It appears that my mailing address in Russia is no longer accessible. Since I only get to Moscow three times a year now, it is probably best for anyone wanting to mail anything to use my parents’ address in Michigan. I get there twice a year and it is more reliable than the Moscow address. Since I am in a different country every month, I hope you understand that I simply cannot regularly access “snail-mail”. Thanks!
E-mail: matveih@yahoo.com — New Mailing address- 26650 Woodshire, Dearborn Hgts., MI., 48127. To support my work financially, you can send a tax-deductible gift to: LCMS World Mission, 1333 S. Kirkwood Rd., St. Louis, MO 63122-7295. Make checks payable to LCMS World Mission. Mark checks “Support of Matthew Heise.” If you would like to partner with me in my ministry with ongoing support as an individual or congregation, please contact Debra Feenstra for information on Together in Mission or Mission Senders at 1-800-248-1930 Ext. 1651 or Debra.Feenstra@lcms.org Thank you, and may the Holy Spirit’s fire infect you!